Jan 16, 2015

Last year, one of the most dramatic moments in the medical cannabis debate occurred when Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), a management-level employee of pork powerhouse and Missouri packing house owner Christensen Farms, explained how he had changed his position.

In statement issued today, Hamilton appears to have experienced another epiphany: that legislators from the metro area and the inner city possess the ability to contribute to policymaking in agriculture finance:

State Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) said the first hearings for the Minnesota House Agriculture Finance Committee have taken place, and he is pleased with how the committee has taken shape.

“I’m honored to be the ag finance chair, and I believe this is the most bipartisan, diverse, geographically balanced group we’ve had during my tenure in the Minnesota House,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said this session’s ag finance committee, traditionally made up solely of rural Minnesota lawmakers, includes a number of lawmakers from the Metro Area and inner cities. He said he is thrilled to work with Twin Cities representatives and help them with urban ag initiatives this year.

“I have one rule as chairman, and that is we will not tear down one segment of agriculture in order to promote another,” Hamilton said. “Agriculture impacts everyone whether they live in Minneapolis or Worthington, and we will recognize that in this committee.” . . .

The statement was sent to constituents in a legislative update as well.

Epiphanies are great things, and it's lovely to see Hamilton join the wise men. Perhaps this spirit of unity will prevail, and Senator Julie Rosen will stop saying mean things about smaller farms not being "real ag." If Representative Hamilton sees that it's all real ag, how hard can it be?

Photo: Seaboard Pork's Guymon OK pork processing plant, via Oklahoma Farm Report. According to a press release on Christensen Farms' website, "Triumph Foods . . . purchased a 50 percent ownership in Daily’s Premium Meats, the processed meats division of Seaboard Foods, which produces and markets raw and precooked bacon, ham and sausage. Daily’s Premium Meats will be owned 50/50 by Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods as of September 27, 2014. As a result of the transaction, Seaboard received cash proceeds of $72.5 million and recognized a pre-tax gain of $55.0 million, subject to final working capital adjustments."

According to the family farm corporation's About Us page, "Christensen Farms is also the largest shareholder of Triumph Foods located in St. Joseph, Missouri. Triumph Foods, a producer-owned pork processing plant, is a leading processor of pork products for both the U.S. and the global marketplace." While Hamilton has called himself "an uneducated hog farmer" in the past, given the scale of these operations, we hope he has a revelation about that as well.

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